Another World
by YukiSkye
Summary: When Evan receives a letter from Hogwarts, his world gets turned upside-down. Join Evan in his day-to-day happenings as he navigates through a whole new realm of magic.
1. Welcome to Hogwarts

And of course, no fandom is _ever _complete without a Harry Potter crossover! Except this story doesn't include Harry Potter and co. I like to think this story takes place a few hundred years later or something or it's simply an AU.

This was written mostly for my enjoyment more than anything else. I tried to think of a plot at one point but then I realized I didn't find much enjoyment trying to find something that simply didn't exist since this was my way of having fun and letting my imagination wander free so I decided to just screw plot and as a result **this story is essentially plotless. **The chapters will be relatively short, 6 pages or so, compared to my usual, longer "full-length" chapters of around 14-16 pages.

Also, **I'm basing characters off of fanon interpretations and fanon names for some.** Check out Tumblr ask blogs of askthebam and dead-mechanic. As such, **Battle Mage is Luka, Mechanic is Aidan, and Tin is Cannoneer.**

This'll be mostly a gen fic but there might be** hints of PhanFreud, past ShadeFreud, and maybe even Aidan/Luka if I can squeeze it in** because gawd if I can help myself.

Since this is a mostly for-fun project with no plot and therefore no end in sight, **this story shall be perpetually in-progress.**

* * *

The grand castle was majesty itself painted out of the nebulous dreams of fairy tales and Evan was in utter wonder.

Not even in his wildest imagination would he ever think that he would end up here but end up here he did into a world of fantastical and impossible proportions. He could hardly keep his jaw off the floor as he gawked unattractively around, staring as he was at his new surroundings dazedly while he moved with the rest of his group through the yawning hallways and sweeping stone staircases.

They eventually stopped in front of a set of grand double doors that seemed to arch all the way to the ceiling, larger than any other door he's ever seen in his life, its wood carved with a multitude of things that Evan didn't have a chance to fully make out before the doors opened with a slow creak without prompting. Their guide never once broke stride as she continued down the aisle between two of four elongated tables that took up the massive room seated in which must have been hundreds of other people, all eyes on them and just like that, his wonder was quickly doused by the heady return of anxiety.

The entirety of the area was lit in the warm glow of many hundreds of little fires flickering on candles positioned elegantly on their candelabras and even suspended midair above which was the breathtaking beauty of the starry night sky. What was most eye-catching, however, were the four banners strung above the four tables, resplendent in their unique individual colors and animals.

Their guide led them towards the front of the room where a group of what must be his future teachers sat behind tables upon a dais, their gazes upon the youngsters standing nervously before them.

Evan watched tensely as their guide brought forth a stool sat upon which was a beaten-up ragged pointed hat that had definitely sen better days and started in surprise when the large stitch that stretched around the bottom half of the hat moved before parting and the hat started to _sing._

Evan gaped at it before remembering that he _was _in a school for _magic_ so he should really learn not to be surprised with things like this but he couldn't help himself. Everything was so new and unfamiliar and it felt as though his world just turned upside-down and inside-out.

At last, the song was finished and the room settled back into silence and the guide stepped up again and produced from within the folds of her deep emerald robes a rolled up piece of parchment from which she started to read names.

Evan watched as one by one, each student sorted into one of the four different houses represented by the animals upon the banners, his trepidation growing with each person called.

"Belderos, Velderoth!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He wondered which house he would be in.

"Chase, Mimi!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Would he be able to make friends?

"Grace, Cygnus!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Scratch that. Would he be able to even fit in?

"Kaiser, Kyle!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

What if he never did?

"Miller, Evan!"

Evan jumped and immediately moved to scurry forward but stumbled and fell onto the cool, smooth stone floor.

A scattering of muffled laughter immediately sounded from around the room at his blunder and he flushed as he picked himself up and moved more carefully to the front of the room where he sat on the stool, still an embarrassed red, and allowed the ratty hat to be put gently on his head.

"Ah, you're a curious one aren't you?"

Evan almost started in his seat at the unfamiliar voice whispering in the spaces between his ears but thankfully managed to fight the impulse down. He didn't need to humiliate himself any further tonight thanks.

"Potential. Lots and lots of potential in you indeed and a very noble and open character you are."

Evan fisted his robes tightly in his hands and had begun to twist the cloth in his stomach-churning apprehension. His eyes roved frantically over the mass of eyes on him, starting to chew on his lower lip even as his heart threatened to race out of his chest.

One of the students sitting at the Ravenclaw table caught his skimming eyes and smiled at him. Evan tried to return it but all that he could usher forth was a nervous twitch at the corner of his lips.

"Hmm… where shall I put you? Hufflepuff perhaps? You will fit in well with such friendliness and loyalty. Or perhaps Ravenclaw. Your mind cries to be challenged, to learn."

The time it was taking the hat to decide was setting him more and more on edge. Did the others take as long as it's taking him to get sorted? Oh geez he hoped not. He didn't want to be the odd one out.

In his desperation to leave, he voiced the one thing he wanted within his head, hoping the hat could hear him like he could hear the hat.

"I just want to go where I can make friends, _real _friends!"

The hat paused.

"Interesting. Very interesting. If that's the case then you'll do well in GRYFFINDOR!"

There was a cheer at the announcement and relieved, Evan beamed and gratefully took off the hat and all but fled to the corresponding table, heart pounding against his ribcage.

He thought his hands and legs might be trembling a bit and he was glad that he wasn't staggering around instead.

He made it to an empty seat and collapsed into it, letting out a burst of air as he did so.

"Good job up there, firstie!" a sunny voice congratulated to his right, patting him enthusiastically on the back.

Evan gave a weak smile to the teen sitting next to him, immediately struck by the mass of flaming red hair with a pair of goggles affixed onto his head.

"Luka MacIntyre, sixth year at your service!" Luka introduced, with a salute while holding out a hand to shake. "Nice to have you on board."

Evan's smile turned into a grin as he took the hand. "I'm Evan. Thanks."

"No problem! If you ever have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! I'll be glad to show you the ropes around here, stupid place as confusing as it is."

Evan relaxed in the face of Luka's amiable personality and he felt a sense of overwhelming relief crash over him down to his deepest core.

He's made his first friend!

The burst of happiness that followed sat in his stomach throughout the entire sorting and when the Headmaster's opening address concluded, he gasped as a variety of mouth-watering food suddenly materialized onto the table.

Evan's eyes darted from one thing to another, unsure where to even begin. Now that he was off his nervous high, his stomach was rumbling with hunger.

"Just take a bit of everything," was Luka's jovial advice as he did just that, piling as much food as the poor plate could hold.

Evan laughed and decided to follow his advice, stacking a little of each food on the table; some roasted ham, some baked potatoes covered in melting cheese, a little bit of peas, and a couple meat pies onto his own plate.

They were all absolutely delicious and Evan sighed blissfully as the savory taste flooded his mouth and senses. As much as he hated to admit it, it might be as good as or even better than his own mother's cooking and she was one of the best in the kitchen. He wasted no further time sampling whatever he could get his hands on but made sure to remember the manners his mother had sternly instilled in him and made sure to make minimum mess. Even if she wasn't there, he couldn't bring himself to disobey her.

"So uh, Luka. Is there… is there anything I should look out for?" he eventually got around to asking as he started on a particularly tasty piece of dessert.

Luka hummed, amber eyes almost golden in the light rolling about languidly as he thought before he finally answered with his mouth still full of pie, "Well, there's a few things. Peeves for one but I think you'll get the hang of it eventually. The professors aren't all that bad but you should probably know who your own Head of House is."

He gestured towards one of the professors sitting at the long table.

He had a head of bright blond hair and blue eyes. He was rather tall and even underneath the cloak Evan could tell that he was rather well-built.

"That's Professor Lux. He's also our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He gets a bit overenthusiastic sometimes but he's still pretty cool. And I'm guessing you know who the Headmaster is right? Guy sitting at the middle of the table? Professor Rubenstein is someone you definitely never want to summon you into his office. Strictest Headmaster ever. But I'd definitely say if there's one person to watch out for, it's the Head Boy. He's a real pain, him, but the difference between Head Boy and good ol' Headmaster Rubenstein is that you see him all. The. Time."

He pointed towards the end of their table with a fork and Evan's gaze followed the path down to where a tall, pale teen sat stiffly at his seat and the first thing Evan noticed was the shocking head of silver hair that seemed to taper off into a light bluish tint near the tips that just barely brushed his shoulders. His severe eyes were just as startling as his hair with one crystalline blue iris and the other a deep crimson. His sharp features were hardened and stern and everything from the way he ate to his posture screamed of strict discipline with how rigidly he went through the motions. Everything about him was distinct and it was easy for the eye to be drawn towards him given how utterly… different he was from his peers.

Evan couldn't help but feel a pang of pity at the lonely picture he cut against the backdrop of lively chatter and laughter.

"That," Luka said, jabbing his fork towards the older boy as if in emphasis, "is Luminous Erevos. He can be just as strict as old Rubenstein! He's also unfortunately Gryffindor which means we get the honor of hanging around his royal pain-in-the-ass highness more than anyone else."

"I don't know," Evan said hesitantly. "He looks a bit lonely."

Luka waved his concern away. "Believe me, he prefers it this way. I have no idea why but he's always distant to everyone. As far as I know, he has just one friend and one archenemy."

"Really? Who?" Evan asked, unable to contain his piqued curiosity.

Luka turned in his seat and directed his attention towards another teen sitting at the Ravenclaw table and Evan immediately knew who he was.

"Enter Freud Aiedail," Luka introduced, oblivious to Evan's familiarity with the older boy his sweeping arm was gesturing towards. "One of the best Hogwarts has ever seen in over a century, Luminous's only friend, and prodigy in pretty much everything. Give him a subject and he's guaranteed to exceed it. He could've made Head Boy but I think he refused for some reason. Some folks say it's because he wanted Luminous to have the title. He's still a prefect though. Huh. Actually when I really look at you two…" He looked back and forth between Evan and Freud. "You kind of look alike. You two related?"

Evan smiled faintly. "Distant cousin."

"Ah. Well, let's hope some of his genius rubbed off on you huh?" Luka laughed, nudging Evan playfully before continuing to point at someone else much further away and Evan had to clamor a little closer to him to see who Luka was referring to.

He was pointing to what looked like a blond with a short, stylish haircut, chatting with someone next to him and leaning closer towards her more than was strictly necessary. Even from this distance, Evan could tell he was rather handsome.

"That is Phantom Noir, show-off and flirt extraordinaire. Weird name I know. Transferred in fourth year and caused quite the ruckus when he first did. Most popular guy in the whole school but he was a lot moodier back then than he is now. He and Luminous get on like water and oil and it's one spectacular show when they get into one of their fights!" Luka exclaimed gleefully. "It's too bad you didn't get to watch their showdowns back a few years ago before Luminous made prefect. They were legendary! But even now they give great entertainment. It's one of those must-see things before you graduate Hogwarts! Or rather before _they _graduate. All three are seventh years."

"Oh." Evan blinked. "Is there anyone else I should know about?"

"Glad ya asked!" Luka said, swiveling back around energetically, almost like an eager child. "Her. You see her?"

Evan nodded, after all, how could he miss one of the most _beautiful_ girls he had ever seen? With her cascade of golden locks, clear, sparkling sapphire eyes, and elegantly shaped face, he wondered how he could've missed her in the first place. Her figure was rather delicate and she held herself with all the grace of a queen.

He hadn't even realized he was gawking until a hand kindly pushed his jaw back up.

"I know right?" Luka agreed dreamily with his unspoken thoughts.

He could barely tear his eyes away from her to look back dazedly at his new friend before his eyes inadvertently flickered back towards the beauty sitting at their table further away, laughing in what could only be an exquisite manner, a small hand covering her mouth daintily.

"She's Mercedes Artemisia. Her name's a lot longer because she's supposed to be from some noble family or something. She's _the _most popular girl in Hogwarts, seventh year so I have one more year before never seeing her lovely face again." He sighed woefully at the bleak prospect. He shook Evan forcefully by the shoulder and asked, "Do you see her ears?"

Evan snapped out of his stupor at the abrupt movement. Now that he wasn't busy concentrating on Mercedes's features, he saw that her ears were shaped differently. It was a bit subtle but it was still there.

"They're pointed!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah. There's rumors that she's some weird mix of elf, Veela, and human. I don't know 'bout you but I'm ready to bet there's some Veela in her."

Evan didn't know what a Veela was but he numbly nodded nonetheless.

With one more firm shake on the shoulder, Luka directed his attention elsewhere again and pointed out another girl sitting at the Hufflepuff table. She had a head of long silver hair bundled into a high ponytail that trailed down to her waist but unlike Luminous's hair, the strands were more white than gray. She had tanned skin with icy-blue eyes set into rather strong features and she seemed rather tall for a girl, the top of her head a good few inches taller than most of the other students in the surrounding area.

"That's Aran Brynhildr, seventh year and Head Girl. She's also one of the best Quidditch players ever. She's played all kinds of positions and she's awesome in all of them but she's best as a Beater. Hoo boy could she _hit._ You should definitely see. One time she hit a Bludger so hard that—"

"Wait, what's Quidditch?"

Luka almost fell off his seat in a dramatic show of shock and grasped tightly onto Evan's upper arms, shaking him vigorously.

"What's Quidditch? _WHAT'S QUIDDITCH?_ Oh Merlin this is a disaster! You don't know what _Quidditch_ is? Oh no, no, no. We're going to fix that. We're going to fix that starting tomorrow. How could you not know what the greatest sport in the _world _is? _How?_" Luka cried as though the lack of knowledge about Quidditch broke some fundamental rule of the universe.

"Um… right," was the only thing Evan could think to reply to his overdramatic friend. "So uh, is there anyone else I should know about?" he asked hastily, hoping to distract Luka from the subject of Quidditch.

Sobering up but not without one final woe-be-me sigh, he gestured towards a teen sat at the Ravenclaw table.

This one also had a head of wayward metallic-silver hair and a set of red eyes stoically trained on the meal in front of him, only occasionally pausing to have conversation with the surrounding people but other than that seemed to keep mostly to himself.

"And finally, that there is my best friend Aidan Garrett! HEEEEEEEY AIDAN! HEEEEEY! HEEEEEEEEEY!" Luka called, waving his arms about the air madly and attracting stares. Evan groaned, feeling inclined to be embarrassed for his new friend making a fool out of himself in the middle of the crowded dining hall.

His calls did succeed in attracting the person he intended to though and the teen named Aidan finally looked up with a grumpy scowl on his face and flicked Luka off with his middle finger.

Luka simply beamed at the rather rude gesture directed towards him and Evan began to question the veracity of him calling Aidan his "best friend." He didn't seem all that taken to the redhead and Luka didn't seem to notice. In fact, Evan wondered if grumpy was his default facial feature.

"Don't worry he may look grumpy but he's really a big teddy bear inside," Luka said happily as though reading his mind. "We grew up together so I would know," he continued, nodding to himself.

"Okay…"

Deciding it was safer to just go with it and not question him any further, they spent the rest of the time eating and getting to know one another.

Eventually, dinner was finished and everyone was herded into groups by prefects and moved to their respective dorms.

Evan couldn't help but let his gaze wander wonderingly at the moving portraits and the medieval architecture of the halls and stairs, letting out a small sound equal parts amazement and dread at the dizzying amount of staircases that moved by themselves.

How on earth will he _ever _learn to navigate through the maze that was Hogwarts?

They finally came upon a giant portrait of a fat lady and one of the prefects taught the password to open it to their common room, warning about the occasional password changes and to be aware of them before they stepped through the hole and entered.

Evan stared around him, his mouth forming into an inaudible "wow" as he took in the sight of the living quarters he'll be calling home for the duration of his stay at Hogwarts.

The Gryffindor common room was a very cozy space filled with lavish red and gold. A large fireplace sat at the front of the room flanked by tall windows with comfortable-looking armchairs, couches, tables, and desks scattered throughout the room for the students' perusal.

They were ushered upstairs to the dormitories where the girls were directed to one entryway while the boys were directed to another and Evan was eventually led to the room where he'll be sleeping.

There were five four-poster beds decked in the traditional house color of red. A tall window and a bedside table separated each bed arranged in semi-circle headboard-first against the wall.

At the foot of one of the beds second from the right, Evan spotted his trunk and he supposed that was the bed he'll be sleeping in from now on. He had just opened it to ensure that all his belongings were intact when the sound of footsteps and loud laughter drawing nearer reached him. A few seconds later, the door was thrown open and two boys walked in.

One of them had steel-blue hair that reached down the nape of his neck and electric-blue eyes. He wore a wide grin on his face and the gait as he marched into the room was full of self-confidence. Every movement he made was energetic and jittery and he looked as though he wouldn't be able to sit still even if he were tied to a chair.

Striding beside him was another boy with blondish-brown hair and calm hazel eyes. He somehow felt older than his age, even more so when he walked side-by-side with his friend where his calmness was only exacerbated where it could be contrasted with the energy exuded from the boy next to him.

He vaguely recognized them as first years that were sorted into Gryffindor as well but he couldn't quite recall their names.

He stood from where he crouched by his open trunk as they approached and unsurprisingly, it was the first boy who spoke first.

"Hi! I'm Kyle Kaiser!" he introduced rather boastfully, "The next Kaiser in line to take over the family business! What about you?"

"Um, hi. I'm Evan Miller, the next Miller in line to uh… Utah's stuff I guess," Evan introduced awkwardly in turn, unsure what to make of the rather large personality in front of him.

The boy next to Kyle smiled amusedly. "Don't mind Kyle. He just has a big head." He ignored Kyle's indignant "Hey!" and held out a hand to shake. "I'm Velderoth Belderos and yeah, I know it's as stupid as it sounds. Blame my parents."

Evan grinned. "At least it almost rhymes."

Kyle laughed loudly at Velderoth's groan which in turn caused Evan to laugh. Kyle's laughter was rather infectious.

A fourth boy arrived a while later, almost slamming the door behind him as he slunk towards the bed second from the left and all but falling onto it face-first. He grunted out his name—Alpha—but only after being prodded insistently by Kyle, saying no more for the rest of the night having chosen instead to immediately drop off to sleep in fitful snores and opting from joining his fellow roommates as they sat in a circle on the floor despite Kyle's best efforts otherwise.

"So someone could actually be immune to your pestering," Velderoth teased with a smirk.

"Shut up, _Veldy_," Kyle shot back, enjoying the sullen look that immediately overshadowed Velderoth's face at the nickname.

Evan laughed, already liking the duo's company.

They stayed up a little while longer before finally retiring for the night, looking both eagerly and anxiously forward to the first day of classes at Hogwarts.

The last bed remained empty for the rest of the night.

* * *

I had originally already sorted these characters a few months ago on my Livejournal which included my explanation why I thought they'd go into which house. I also originally sorted the Chief Knights into houses too before I changed my mind and decided to make them professors. It's kind of outdated but the general gist is still there. If you're interested, feel free to check my Livejournal through the link in my profile and look for the Harry Potter tag on the right. I meant to continue sorting more people but then stuff happened so I didn't finish it.

Hope to see you again!


	2. First Day of Classes

Evan thought it was really lucky that he got to be friends with a sixth year because he was certain that if not for Luka's help, they would've become lost trying to find their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

This time, Evan made an effort to try to memorize at least the path from the Gryffindor common room to the Great Hall. It'd be terrible if he got lost every time he tried to go down for food.

"And voila! Here we are!" Luka chirped way too brightly for what was appropriate in the morning.

Grumbling, Kyle shuffled over to the table and plopped himself onto the bench where his forehead promptly made the acquaintance of hard wood.

Velderoth and Evan followed, exchanging amused looks at Kyle's distress at the early hour.

"Not a morning person?" Evan asked as he took his own seat, eyeing the plethora of food before deciding to settle on some toast with grape jam.

Velderoth grinned. "Never has been."

Luka had bounced off somewhere and Velderoth and Evan spent breakfast talking excitedly while a dozy Kyle blinked in and out of the haze of much yearned-for sleep.

Eventually, Professor Lux came around and handed them their timetables with a smile before moving on.

"Let's see… Monday. We have… Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, lunch, break, and double Herbology," Velderoth mumbled as his eyes skimmed the schedule.

Evan, likewise, took stock of what was to wait for the rest of the week but his attention was pulled by one particular subject written on his timetable.

"Flying?" Evan asked, quickly looking over towards Velderoth for an explanation.

"Yeah. They teach you how to fly on broomsticks your first year. Are you Muggle-born?"

"Um, yeah."

"Okay well, first years can't have their own brooms and you can't try out for the Quidditch team until next year."

"Oh okay. I still don't really know what Quidditch is though…"

Velderoth grinned wickedly. "Oh you will. Kyle will make sure of it," he said, rolling his eyes before nudging his comatose friend. "Isn't that right, Kyle?"

Kyle only groaned in response.

While Velderoth attempted to prod Kyle into some semblance of wakefulness, Evan spotted their roommate walking into the Great Hall with a girl who looked identical to him except her hair was a lot smoother and neater than the tussle of bright blonde hair Alpha wore and she looked somewhat softer if not a bit expressionless.

Deciding that it would be good manners to greet his roommate and his twin, he went up to them and with a small, hesitant smile said, "Good morning."

"Oh hey… Good morning?"

Alpha was looking searchingly at him, as though trying to remember if he'd ever seen Evan before. Well, he did seem really tired last night so he wouldn't be surprised if he forgot him.

"I'm Evan, your roommate," Evan clarified helpfully and Alpha's scarlet eyes flickered with recognition.

"Oh right! Hey sorry 'bout that. Rough night last night. Was too tired to really look around."

"It's okay. Do you want to sit with my friends?"

Alpha shrugged. "Sure why not."

Evan's eyes trailed over to the silent girl beside him. "Um… do you want to join too?"

"Okay," was the simple answer and together, the three of them made their way back to Velderoth, finally having succeeded in waking up Kyle who was now busily devouring some eggs and ham as though he had never eaten before.

"Hey guys. I invited Alpha and um…" Evan turned pink in slight embarrassment as he realized he hadn't even asked for the girl's name. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Beta."

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Beta."

"Nice to meet you too," she answered with a small smile.

"Hey. I'm Velderoth and this—" Velderoth jabbed Kyle in the side with an elbow, earning him a muffled "Oomph" and an angry glare, "—is Kyle."

"Hey," Alpha greeted in turn, nodding towards them as he sat down, Beta and Evan following soon after.

"So you two twins?" Kyle asked around his sausage, looking between them.

"Yep," Alpha replied as he started to load up on some breakfast.

"Cool. So do you have this twin telepathy thing going on or…?"

"No," Alpha said a bit flatly. "Besides, we're not the only twins. There was a pair of twins who got into Slytherin when they got sorted."

"Oh yeah I remember," Velderoth quipped.

Evan didn't. He was too busy shaking with nerves to really pay attention to the Sorting Ceremony.

"Hey so what do you guys think Charms will be like?"

Charms was taught by a beautiful witch with long chartreuse hair whose appearance could rival even Mercedes. But her beauty held a sort of maturity to it that seemed to belie her youthful appearance. Her penetrating verdant greens looked as though they could see through anything when they affixed themselves intently on something and she held herself with the calm assurance of someone who had witnessed much over the course of her life.

Professor Pierce, Head of Ravenclaw and Deputy Headmistress, as she introduced herself, proved to be a rather fun teacher equal part stern and patient and Evan knew that he'll be looking forward to her lessons.

Transfiguration with Professor Arachdis, Head of Slytherin, was… interesting. He was nice and friendly but something about him put Evan on edge for some strange reason.

The professor was a man of average stature with a pair of glasses over purplish eyes. His ash-gray hair was arranged neatly on his head, his robes were immaculate, and Evan thought he was the very example of a typical academic. Maybe that was why he was so nervous around him.

But at some point going from Transfiguration to his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, however, Evan somehow got separated from his friends and became lost.

The portraits, while generally helpful, often gave contradictory or hard-to-follow directions and even unrelated bits of information.

He thought to ask someone but they all seemed too busy and the ones who aren't were first years who were equally as lost as he was.

With a knot in his throat, Evan wandered miserably down a corridor, not even hoping that it was the right way anymore.

"Evan?"

Evan quickly looked up at the quiet inquiry.

It was Freud, his distant cousin who helped guide him through the basics of the wizarding world when he first received the Hogwarts acceptance letter, who had also accompanied him to Diagon Alley for his school supplies, and who had sat with him the whole nervous train ride to Hogwarts. Evan didn't think he could be thankful enough for all his patience and the help he gave. And here he was about to bother him again and the thought put him a worse mood than before.

"Hullo, Freud," Evan mumbled out.

Freud's brows furrowed in concern as he stepped closer and put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Evan?" Freud asked warmly.

"I got lost…"

Freud smiled in that soft way that didn't make Evan feel stupid like Utah did and he felt a brief childish desire to cling to him before he quashed it down forcefully. No! He wasn't a baby anymore!

"Where were you headed to?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Freud nodded. "Would you like me to take you there?"

Evan hesitated. He was tempted to take the offer but he didn't want to make Freud late for his own classes.

"Don't worry. The professor will understand if I explain it to him. After all, it's part of my job as a prefect to look after the first years even if they aren't from my own house."

Evan broke into a relieved smile and he ducked his head. "Thank you, Freud," he whispered, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

Freud patted his shoulder and began to lead the way.

"Don't worry about being late. The professors are lenient the first few days with latecomers. They understand that first years often get lost," Freud explained as they walked. "But you still have some time to make it."

Evan nodded gratefully at the reassurance as he trailed slightly behind the Ravenclaw prefect.

"Freud!" a voice called from somewhere on the other side of the hall.

Freud didn't so much as pause in his steps as though he didn't hear, however, and the young Gryffindor attempted to peer through the thinning crowd curiously to try and see who could be calling for his cousin.

It didn't take much longer to spot the blond Luka had pointed out as Phantom during the Welcoming Feast running towards them, a great big grin on his face as he drew nearer until he had caught up to Freud upon which he suddenly hugged him.

"Freud my good friend! It's so dashing to see you again!" Phantom exclaimed as he pulled away but his hands remained firmly clasped onto Freud's shoulders.

Freud sighed good humoredly in a way that made Evan feel like they've been over something like this many times before, saying patiently, "Phantom, we met just yesterday and if you wish, we can meet again sometime later but right now, I'm trying to fulfill my duties as prefect if you'd be so kind."

Phantom wouldn't be so kind. Instead, he looked over Freud's shoulder, incidentally leaning closer to the prefect, towards Evan, who stiffened under the sharp scrutiny of intent violet eyes.

"Oh? Who is this, Freud? I didn't know you had a little brother," Phantom observed with interest.

"That's because I don't have a little brother. Evan is a distant cousin of mine whom I'm helping right now."

"Evan is it?" Phantom repeated, tasting the name in his mouth. "Hmm…"

Freud frowned and dislodged Phantom's hands from his shoulders. "No, Phantom. We don't have the time to entertain you. Not now."

Phantom huffed but conceded under Freud's stern tone of voice and look that booked no room for argument.

"Fine. I shall see you later then, Freud… And you, Evan. It's been a pleasure."

With a smirk and a slight inclination of his head, the Slytherin finally departed with fluid movements and Freud looked towards Evan.

"Shall we continue on?"

Evan nodded and they proceeded once again towards their destination.

"Was he your friend?" he couldn't help asking.

"Yes he is, infuriating as Phantom is," Freud replied, a faint smile on his lips that was equally exasperated as it was something else Evan couldn't quite put a finger on. "But I would still like to warn you to be careful around him. He can be quite overwhelming."

They arrived in front of a door which Freud directed as his classroom and after giving one more thanks to his cousin, entered.

Herbology had been a messy affair with Professor Gale, who came on as a bit too… strong and Evan grimaced as he and his classmates trudged out of the greenhouse.

"Man, I'm hungry," Kyle complained loudly.

"I feel gross," Velderoth grumbled in concurrence to Kyle's misery, face twisting as he touched his face and came back with dirt caked on his fingers.

"This sucks," Alpha mumbled, noticing how even through the protective clothing they wore, some of the dirt still managed to somehow soil his white uniform shirt underneath.

Beta didn't speak but her face looked weary nonetheless.

Evan simply sighed somewhat gloomily. He had a feeling Herbology for the rest of his school career is going to end up with them covered with dirt in one way or another.

Well, they still had some time before dinner and Evan itched to shower and get a change of clothes. Years of having his mom scold him and Utah for bringing mud to the dinner table made it practically a habit by now.

"I'll be right back, guys. I just wanna go up and get a change of clothes," Evan hurriedly explained once they got back into the castle.

Without waiting for a response, he ran through the halls, mentally going through the passageways while keeping an eye out for familiar landmarks to point him to the Gryffindor common room and hoping none of the prefects caught him running.

To his relief and satisfaction, he managed to make it in front of the portrait.

He quickly gave the password and went through the hole, the common room, up the stairs and to his room but stopped when he realized that someone was there.

"Oh." Evan blinked at the rather thin newcomer who had immediately spun around to face him upon the sound of his entry. "Um… hi."

"Hi," the boy mumbled, looking away towards the floor where a white cat with a fluffy tail winded around his ankles.

"I'm Evan. What's your name?"

"Xenon."

"Nice to meet you, Xenon. I haven't seen you before. Last night I mean."

"Oh. Yeah."

The cat at his feet gave a loud mew and the corner of Xenon's lips quirked slightly upward, features softening as he obliged to the communication to be picked up but Evan noticed that Xenon was still a bit tense. Maybe he was shy?

"That's a nice cat."

Xenon nodded. "Her name's Roo-D. She's been with me for a long time," Xenon said, smile growing a bit as he petted the cat indulgently.

Evan took half a step forward but hesitated. "Can I…?"

Xenon looked slightly surprised but he nodded and Evan came closer, letting the cat sniff his hand before slowly testing the waters. He petted the cat on her head and when he was sure she wouldn't bite, scratch, or hiss, began to stroke her back.

Evan found himself grinning. He always liked animals. Must be the result of growing up on a farm.

"She really likes you," Xenon commented, sounding happy.

"Thanks. I really like her too." Evan hesitated before slowly asking. "Um… Can I ask you something?"

When Xenon nodded, he continued tentatively. "You don't have to answer but… well… I haven't really seen you all day in any of the classes so I was just wondering where you've been. You don't have to answer if it's personal or anything though!"

Xenon smiled. It was small but Evan felt relieved that he wasn't offended by his prying.

"There was a bit of trouble back home so I couldn't make it on time. The Headmaster was kind enough to help me."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad it's okay now."

Xenon seemed caught off guard at the statement, looking hesitant and Evan frowned, wondering if he said something wrong.

"I uh… Thanks…" Xenon finally managed to utter, looking slightly as though he couldn't quite believe what was happening.

"Do you want to go down to dinner with me? You could meet come meet my friends!"

"Yes…"

"Great! Oh." Evan slapped his forehead as he remembered the original reason why he ran up here in the first place. "Can you wait a bit? First I want to change my clothes. I'm all dirty. You're lucky you didn't go to Herbology today."

Xenon smiled, this time a lot less tentatively and Evan made sure to return it.

Later, Evan would remember that he was a wizard now who could simply magic the grime away.

* * *

In case anyone's confused:

**Professor Lux is Mihile**

**Professor Pierce is Athena Pierce**

**Professor Arachdis is Will from Zero's storyline**

**Professor Gale is Irena**


	3. New Friend

The next few days stumbled awkwardly over one another as Evan learned to adjust to his new world.

History of Magic could easily induce the first documented case of death by boredom and Evan and Kyle were certain that the ghostly Professor Binns was trying to do just that in order to take over the world by turning everyone into ghosts.

Professor Blaiz, the Potions teacher and Head of Hufflepuff, made Evan warily question the viability of allowing someone as worryingly clumsy as her to handle highly volatile substances that had the potential to melt someone's arm off.

Astronomy with Professor Nocte wasn't so bad except that they had to troop up to the Astronomy Tower every Wednesday at midnight to stare at dots in the sky that all looked _exactly_the same and memorize their names and the constellations they formed in addition to trying to map their movements.

Evan felt thankful he had somewhat of a leg up on most of his fellow classmates since his family went camping quite often and stargazing had been one of the things they did.

His most memorable class, however, was flying lessons with Madam Delahayes.

"Alright listen up!" Madam Delahayes barked, her strong voice carrying quite well over the excited chatter of the students and effectively silencing them and earning her their attention. It could probably be heard even over long distances, something that would be useful for Quidditch. "I don't want any horsing around from you lot got it? If you fall and break your neck, I don't want to hear you complaining. Now, the first thing I want you to do is to put your dominant hand over your broomstick and say up!"

Madam Delahayes demonstrated as she spoke and rapt eyes watched with fascination as the broom immediately flew up to meet her palm upon which she wrapped her fingers firmly around the old handle.

"Now I want you to do it."

As the students each attempted the same thing with varying levels of success.

Kyle managed it his first try, much to his delight. Velderoth was able to do it upon his tenth. Evan wished he was nearly so lucky but he did get it eventually.

When everyone had their broomsticks, Madam Delahayes nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Now, this is how you mount a broom properly."

She demonstrated and then had everyone try it as well, walking around and correcting postures and grips.

When she was satisfied they all had the lowest chance of falling off their brooms and cracking their heads open, she walked back to the front of the rows.

"When I blow the whistle, kick off nice and easy, rise a few feet, and then come back down by leaning forward a bit. Ready?"

Evan's heartbeat was drumming in his ears. So many things that could go wrong.

The sharp shrill of the whistle blew through the air and Evan took a gulp of air before shakily pushing up against the ground. The broomstick wobbled slightly left and right under his sweaty hands. Easy… Easy…

Kyle seemed to be having an easier time of it though. The look on his face was positively manic and he looked about ready to do a few loop-de-loops but just barely refrained. The expression he had when he landed after the utterly unchallenging exercise was more fit on someone who had just lost their favorite toy.

"I hope she'll let us do more than get in the air and land over and over and over again," Kyle sighed wistfully as they walked off the field.

It wasn't long before Evan got into the swing of things and he was glad to realize that he was quite content with how things were going so far. He had friends, magic still provoked wonder in him, and he loved his lessons even through the homework which Kyle was relentless in bugging Evan about because Velderoth absolutely wouldn't budge on the matter.

"Now he's going to keep coming to you for homework," Velderoth noted to which Evan could only drag out an exasperated, "I knoooow" from his mouth complete with a hopeless eye roll towards the ceiling.

They sometimes held study groups consisting mainly of Evan, Velderoth, Beta, and Alpha. Xenon would join them occasionally but he was still uncomfortable with large group settings. Kyle joined them practically never and only when forced, whining the whole way through so it was to Evan's great surprise when he caught his friend in the common room one night with a quill and parchment and actually writing whole paragraphs as opposed to doodling without the use of coercion.

"What're you doing?" Evan had asked, peering over Kyle's shoulder to watch him write but he didn't even try to read what he was writing.

"Writing a letter to Tear, a friend of mine and Vel's back home. We grew up together since we were kids but Tear's a squib so she couldn't come with us to Hogwarts so me and Vel always send her letters and stuff so she wouldn't get lonely," Kyle answered.

Ah, that explained why every once in a while Kyle and Velderoth would huddle together over a letter brought in with the morning post.

The last visages of warmth from summer had left them completely and the chill of the coming winter had closed its grip on the land when Professor Pierce tapped her wand on her desk to gather their attention.

"For this session, I would like everyone to work in pairs from someone of the opposite house." She looked around the room, taking stock of the uncertain glances between the Gryffindor students and the students from her own house and she smiled. "Well go on then. It won't do to make friends only within your own house. It's good to get to know others outside of your circle."

With that, there was a general clamor of noise as students moved to find a partner, rearranging their usual seating patterns in the process.

Evan by nature wasn't a shy person but he did tend to shrink a bit when forced to interact in crowds. He hated when a lot of attention was drawn to him. It made him feel self-conscious and small therefore, all he could do was stand despairingly in the middle of the room as the crowd thinned itself out little by little as people found their partners and he resigned himself to having to be assigned to someone.

It was then he was approached by a girl with long blonde hair, some of which curled around a sweet, heart-shaped face, framing translucent cerulean eyes in a lovely way. The smile she wore was small and a bit timid but she nonetheless asked in a clear voice, "Hello, I'm Cygnus Grace. Do you want to be my partner?"

"Yeah that'd be great. Thanks," Evan said in a rush of relief. "I'm Evan Miller. Do you want to find somewhere to sit?"

Cygnus beamed and nodded and they quickly found a seat to the right of the room near the middle, waiting for further instruction.

When the last person had cleared off, Professor Pierce looked around, seemingly satisfied. "Good. Does anyone not have a partner?"

Nobody raised their hands and she proceeded give them their assignments and instructions on how to complete them.

When class had concluded, Evan and Cygnus packed up their supplies.

"Evan, do you want to meet together some time during the weekend to do our project?" Cygnus asked as they headed out the door.

"Sure! Um… Lemme think if I—"

A loud crash and a gasp interrupted Evan before he could finish as someone smashed into Cygnus, causing her to spill all her books onto the floor in a messy litter.

"Whoops. Sorry, Cyggie. Didn't see you there," sniggered the one who bumped into Cygnus unrepentantly.

Evan turned to stare angrily at the Slytherin first year girl with long platinum-blonde hair in twin pigtails held up with cute rabbit heads.

"Hey. That was mean," he growled.

"That was mean," mocked the twin Slytherin boy beside the girl. He giggled. "Really?"

Evan felt a rush of heated anger warm his face and he clenched his hand harder around his wand.

"Evan…" Cygnus muttered, tugging on his robe sleeve.

"Oh, Lotus! He wants to fight," the girl squealed with mock terror that sounded more like delight.

"I'm scared too, Orchid! We didn't even do anything! You just bumped into Cyggie by accident!" Lotus trilled in.

Evan very well would've attempted to jinx the twins right then and there but a silky voice interrupted them before he could.

"Problem?"

And seemingly out of nowhere, Phantom had materialized behind Evan with a languid smirk.

The twins froze as they stared at the Slytherin six years their senior before they huffed simultaneously and left without another word.

"It's sooo_ like_ a Gryffindork to fall for such an obvious ploy," Phantom sighed woefully as though the matter was beyond redemption or hope when Orchid and Lotus were out of sight down the hall

Evan turned to him, frowning somewhat ashamedly but the indignant balk of what happened had still yet to leave and he felt well and truly justified when he opened his mouth to retort but he was interrupted yet again when Cygnus cried delightedly, "Sir Phantom!"

Phantom turned to the young Ravenclaw with a dazzling smile that lit up his eyes. "Princess! Such an honor to be able to catch even a glimpse of your radiant beauty!" He swept into a bow in one fluid movement and Cygnus giggled into her hands.

Evan was sure that if anyone else had spouted those lines, they would've come off cheesy, overdramatic, and maybe even a bit creepy but somehow, Phantom was able to make them come off as sincere compliments.

"You may rise, Sir Phantom," Cygnus managed behind her fingers and Phantom did just that, a boyish grin of affection on his face.

"And how are you, princess? I haven't been able to catch up with you to which I simply must apologize."

Cygnus removed her hands from her mouth, which were stretched into one of the happiest smiles Evan thought he had ever seen and replied, "It's okay. There hadn't been much happening but I made some friends!"

She beamed towards Evan. "This is Evan. We're working together for a project in Charms."

"Is that so?" Phantom mused, turning to look at Evan, who shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze. "Ah!" He smacked a hand to his forehead. "How simply appalling of me! Your belongings are still scattered all on the floor and we simply cannot have that! Please allow me to amend that for you."

With a flick of his wand, all of Cygnus's books and papers lifted themselves off of the floor and piled themselves neatly onto the upturned palm of Phantom, who swept down to offer them to Cygnus.

"Thank you, Sir Phantom," Cygnus said, taking the books and giving him a little curtsey.

"As much as I am loathe to remove myself from your ever-joyous presence, I must be off," Phantom said mournfully. "If you would please excuse me, princess."

"You are dismissed," Cygnus laughed.

Phantom gave her faint smile and turned to Evan. "Take good care of the princess, Evan."

Evan shivered. Somehow, it felt less like parting pleasantry and more like a threat.

With that, Phantom was gone, leaving Evan and Cygnus once again to their own devices.

"You know Phantom, Cygnus?" Evan asked the moment they could.

"Yes," Cygnus replied. "He used to play with me all the time when I was younger, back when he was with my older sister."

"Oh. It's just that I've never really seen anyone act like that before…" Evan admitted, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

Cygnus turned a slight red and laughed. "Yeah. It was a part of a game when I was younger. He would be the knight and I'd be the princess and I guess it stuck."

"O-oh. I wasn't thinking badly of it or anything," Evan hastily amended.

"I know," Cygnus said, smiling reassuredly.

Evan returned it but it changed into a frown when a thought occurred to him. "So those twins… Orchid and Lotus? It sounded like they bullied you in the past."

Cygnus's smile faded a bit around the edges and she looked away. "It's nothing really."

"It's not nothing!" Evan insisted. "They're bullying you!"

Cygnus shook her head. "I can take it by myself besides, if I do something, it's what they'll want."

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything! Did you tell a prefect? What about a professor?"

"It's fine. _Really, _Evan," Cygnus stressed and before Evan could say anything else, quickly added, "Thanks for worrying about me though."

Evan deflated and nodded, sensing that that was the end of that. "Sure," he said weakly.

"So! When do you want to meet?" Cygnus asked, changing the subject back to what it was originally supposed to be.

"Oh right." Evan's brow crinkled as he thought. "Um… How about Sunday after lunch?"

"Okay that sounds good. If it's after lunch, we can walk together to the library if you want."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

In case anyone's confused:

**Professor Blaize is Oz**

**Professor Nocte is Eckhart**

**Madam Delahayes is Kyrin**


	4. Quidditch Match

Saturday had finally rolled around and Evan knew because he was being shaken out of his skin by his normally dead-as-doornails roommate in the morning.

"First Quidditch game of the season!" Kyle whooped, methodically going to each bed and rattling the occupants awake, hollering in the ears of anyone who dared try to sleep a second longer, and just generally being a pain.

Evan groaned and flopped around his bed like a demented fish for a moment longer before finally getting up amid the grumbles of his roommates and the occasional curse from Alpha.

"C'mon! C'mon c'mon c'mon!"

Kyle rushed them through their morning rituals and all but pushed them to the Great Hall for breakfast amongst their complaints and protests at the treatment.

"Kyle, the Quidditch match doesn't even start 'til eleven," Velderoth grouched as he grumpily buttered his toast but Kyle wasn't listening. He was going a mile a minute, off in his own little world.

At least Alpha was interested enough about Quidditch to offer some conversation to Kyle's almost mindless babble despite the rather rude morning wake-up call and Evan was curious enough to half-heartedly listen in.

By the time they were making their way to the stands, Kyle was fairly vibrating all the way up to their seats.

Evan was vibrating but for a whole other reason altogether from excitement.

It was a chilly day with overhead clouds and the wind made it all the more bitingly so but all the way up in the air, it was all Evan could do to keep from freezing himself silly.

He bundled his scarf tighter around his neck and huddled into himself, impatiently waiting for the match to start so it could finish sooner and he could be back inside the castle nice and warm.

Finally, the opposing teams marched out and the crowd went wild around them. They were resplendent in uniforms of green and white for Slytherin and red and yellow for Gryffindor and Evan found himself peeking down curiously at the people lining up on the field, brooms in hand. Much to his excitement, he caught the unmistakable red of Luka's hair minus his goggles, which he was now wearing over his eyes.

Madam Delahayes stood at the front of the rows facing each other and Evan assumed she was referee.

She shouted a command and all on the field mounted their brooms.

A red ball was tossed and with one piercing whistle, fourteen brooms instantly rocketed up, up into the air and Evan held his breath in awe as they all became nothing but a blur before his eyes.

"Aaaand Slytherin instantly takes the lead with Chaser Starling Harper taking the Quaffle!" the commentator boomed over the raging din of the cheering crowd. "Bludger immediately sent her way by Tin Silvers, passes the Quaffle, caught by Crow Cromwell—brilliant tag team as always—speeding to the goal, Valerie Bonny to intercept, twists away, he shoots he—no! Blocked by Keeper Lora Scouting! Quaffle in Gryffindor hands…"

Evan could hardly keep from gaping at the fast game happening right before him, heart thundering as loud as the roaring crowd, eyes darting anxiously everywhere, chest seized with rabid _need _that Gryffindor _win_,on the edge of his seat, his hands tingling as they clutched the bench, breathless, and it was _marvelous._

It didn't take long before he was cheering right alongside Kyle in an equally enthusiastic way at Gryffindor's successes and groaning at Slytherin's.

So absorbed he was in watching the Quaffle that he was startled when a red streak suddenly tore down from the sky right in front of him towards the field with a sharp whistle.

"Luka MacIntyre has spotted something! Could it be that he's found the Snitch? He goes in for the dive, speeds between Cromwell and Berkley—Slytherin Seeker Damien Adraeillon at his tail—ducks under a Blu—OH! And there's some of that famous aerial maneuvering to dodge a collision course with the second Bludger thrown his way, like teleporting through the air! Harper takes advantage of the mess and steals the Quaffle!"

Evan's eyes followed Luka's flight with the intensity of a fervent desire for victory as Damien caught up.

Luka abruptly made a sharp ninety degree turn, leaving Damien to almost crash into the stands and made a U-turn to continue his pursuit of the Snitch.

_C'mon…_

He held his breath when Luka stretched an arm out, hand open.

_C'mon…_

A sudden comet of brown hurtled right into Luka and the high force had him careening off the broom where he fell several yards, crashing brutally into the ground, bounced twice, and laid still.

There were collective gasps in the surrounding audience and a murmur ripped through them like a wave.

Evan watched Luka's prone body in suspended horror, the earlier rush from the game instantly evaporating in place of heart-stopping dread as he was abruptly reminded that Quidditch was as much danger as it was exhilaration.

Madam Delahayes was by his side, mouth moving rapidly as she spoke to the fallen Seeker but she stopped when Luka held out something small and gold between his fingers.

"MacIntyre has caught the Snitch! What a miracle! He held onto it when the Bludger caught him! Now that's dedication! Gryffindor wins two hundred ten to ninety!"

Afterwards, Luka was carted away for medical attention.

Madam Claudine Rayne, who was in charge of the Hospital Wing, was a rather austere witch especially in regards to her patients but she was also fiercely protective of her lot, the single betrayal to a concerned heart.

As such, no one got to see Luka until he was deemed fit by Madam Rayne, period, though it didn't stop Tin from trying to sneak in a few times.

When Madam Rayne finally allowed visitors in a few hours later, Luka's bed was practically swamped by his Quidditch teammates, who were all clamoring around him in a merry fashion.

"Good job with that one buddy," one of Luka's teammates that Evan recognized as Tin was saying, nodding towards his arm and leg wrapped in bandages.

"Shut up, Tin," Luka said cheerfully. "Still caught the Snitch!"

"And that's all that matters!"

Evan hung back to wait until everyone had left before he approached Luka.

"Hey-o Evan! So good of you to visit me," Luka greeted brightly.

"Hey Luka. How're you feeling?" Evan asked with a grin.

"Pain," Luka groaned, flopping onto his pillows. "It sucks when you break bones. Don't do it, firstie. It ain't worth it."

"But that was amazing! I've never seen anyone move like that on a broom before!" Evan quickly exclaimed, hoping it would take his mind off of the pain.

Luka beamed. "Then stick around! There's more where that came from."

"Luka!"

Startled, Evan glanced towards the direction of the aggravated growl and watched as Luka's self-proclaimed best friend, Aidan, stomped in with the put out look of someone who was forced to go out of his way to visit.

"Aw Aidan! You came!" Luka cheered, sniggering.

Aidan shot him a withering look and snapped, "Shut up. If I didn't, you'd become a pain in the ass for the whole week you get out."

His eyes trailed up to Luka's red hair and scowled. "_Why_ are you wearing your goggles in bed?"

Evan looked and indeed, Luka had his Quidditch goggles on, tucked neatly on top of his head.

"I like them," Luka pouted defensively and Evan thought he had never seen someone as old as Luka pout before. He found it amusing. "Ah! Hey! Hands off the goggles! No touchy the goggles!" Luka yelped, putting his uninjured hand over them protectively when Aidan drew nearer.

Aidan snorted. "Calm down. I wouldn't want to go anywhere near your stupid ratty goggles in the first place."

"No they're not!" Luka cried, actually sounding a bit upset. "Besides, you're the one who gave them to me in the first place."

"Before I realized you'd be idiot enough to do something like this," Aidan grumbled.

"It's Quidditch," Luka said pointedly. "Course people eat dirt all the time! But these Quidditch goggles are sturdy and I make sure to take real good care of 'em!" he stated happily, taking them off his head and admiring the dull gleam of tarnished gold and the beaten-up, worn leather of the straps. He looked back up at Aidan with a gleam in his eye. "Looking forward to facing you in Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor!"

"Don't count on winning," Aidan retorted bluntly. He glanced to the side and finally noticed Evan standing at the bedside, watching their exchange with faint amusement and curiosity.

Aidan shifted slightly upon the realization, clearing his throat awkwardly and folding his arms across his chest while glancing away uncomfortably.

"So if you're feeling good enough to be stupid, I'm leaving," Aidan announced and without even an exchange of good-bye, spun on his heel and left.

"Yeah he's like that," Luka snickered in answer to Evan's questioning look. "He gets uncomfortable showing people he cares."

"He seemed pretty comfortable showing he cares about you though," Evan pointed out.

"You're pretty sharp," Luka praised lightly. "But yeah. Might be because we've known each other since we were kids. I know how he works so he doesn't have to try to be all mushy with me like he does with other people if he wanted them to know he cared."

Evan nodded and spent a little longer with Luka before he decided that it was finally time to go.

When he got back to the common room, it was jam-packed with people and a loud buzz of conversation had settled over the entire space.

Worming through the crowd of Gryffindors, he finally spotted Kyle, Velderoth, and Alpha towards one side of the crowd.

"Hey Evan. How was Luka?" Velderoth asked upon his approach, needing to raise his voice to be heard over the hubbub in the common room.

"He's fine. He just hurts a bit. So I'm guessing we're celebrating?"

"Nope! Not yet! Can't hold a party without our star Seeker, eh?" Kyle said, nudging him. "Wasn't that just amazing? You're thanking me for bringing you to the game aren't you?"

Evan rolled his eyes and didn't reply although he was grinning.

"Oh man I can't _wait _until next year. I'm going to try out and I'm going to blow them all away with my awesome flying skills! I'm so hyped!" Kyle continued, practically bouncing where he stood. "Are you going to try out, Alpha?"

Alpha shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to try. I'm going to see if I can't rope Beta into it too. We'll make an awesome team."

"Twin power," Kyle said sagely.

"Not really but whatever."

Kyle turned back to Evan. "What about you, Evan? Vel already said he'd try out so you'll try out too won't you?" He turned puppy dog eyes at him and Evan laughed.

"I think I'm going to have to think about it a bit more. I don't really like the idea of crashing," he said, wincing at the memory of Luka's fall.

"Aw c'mon, Evan. Quidditch deaths are actually kind of rare," Kyle wheedled.

"Doesn't mean it won't still hurt when you're falling at a hundred miles an hour," Evan mumbled, just barely audible over the clamor of noise.

"Well no rush. There's still a year at least. Just do what you have to do," Alpha interrupted when Kyle opened his mouth to argue his point further.

"Thanks, Alpha." Looking around, he realized that Beta was missing, which was strange because she and her brother were practically attached at the hip. "Where's Beta and Xenon?"

"Beta's somewhere," Alpha replied vaguely, waving a hand around. "And dunno where Xenon could've gone to. Maybe the rooms to get away from the noise?"

Evan nodded and eventually joined them in a game of Exploding Snap.


	5. Message

Sunday after lunch found Evan and Cygnus burrowed in the library, whispering to one another as they struggled through a particular charms spell they found in one of the books and the essay that followed.

"This is so hard! I just want to tear my hair out and—ugh!" Evan complained, momentarily forgetting to lower his voice and earning himself a stern look (although it was a bit hard to tell with the bowl cut that blocked his eyes) and a frown of disapproval from Mr. Dellos, the rather short librarian.

Cygnus giggled and dragged the feathery tip of the quill across her cheek. "Well, I guess that's why Professor Pierce decided to pair us off."

"Fat lot of good that'll do if I still don't get it," Evan muttered, slumping in his seat.

"Aw don't give up now, Evan. Here, I'll help you."

Evan sighed and prepared himself for another grueling session of studying when he caught sight of the familiar figure of his cousin walking down one of the aisles with a few books in his arms.

Perking up at the excuse for a distraction, he waved him over eagerly to which Freud obliged indulgently.

"Hey Freud," Evan greeted the moment he was close enough to hear him without the need to shout.

"Good afternoon, Evan," Freud replied in kind.

"This is Cygnus, my partner for a Charms project. Cygnus, this is Freud, my cousin."

"Hello," Cygnus chirped.

"A pleasure to meet you. Phantom has talked much about you so it seems you've already become acquainted with him. My utmost condolences," Freud said with a smile and a sparkle of good humor in his eyes.

Cygnus giggled. "He's not that bad."

"I completely and utterly agree," a voice sniffed indignantly and Evan didn't think he'd ever get used to Phantom simply materializing out of thin air like that. But then again, maybe he should start expecting it. It seemed like wherever Freud went, Phantom was never too far behind. "I'll have you know that I'm the best thing that's ever happened to her. Isn't that right, princess?"

"Weeeeeell…" Cygnus drawled, pretending to think it over.

Phantom recoiled in feigned hurt and clutched a hand over his chest. "Oh princess! How you render my heart so!"

Evan stifled a giggle with one hand. Phantom's theatrics could land him instantly in an acting position. Judging by Freud's amused expression as they exchanged looks, he thought so too.

Phantom zeroed in on Evan's mirth and arched an elegantly trimmed brow. "Find this funny do you? Well if we've served as sufficient entertainment for you so that you could procrastinate your studies long enough, then we're leaving."

Freud shot him an admonishing look to which the Slytherin huffed before turning to Evan with an apologetic smile.

"I apologize on behalf of Phantom. He could be quite the child sometimes."

"Freud!" Phantom whined.

"But we've intruded on your work long enough. So we'll take our leave. I hope to see you both again," Freud said, speaking over Phantom's petulant cry.

With that, they both turned and started out the library, Phantom complaining all the while about the verbal abuse hurled at him while Freud simply smiled and nodded along, humoring the Slytherin.

"Sir Phantom and Freud seem like they're really close to each other," Cygnus observed as she watched them go.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Phantom said they were good friends," Evan said, slightly distracted by his work, mussing his hair as he attempted to puzzle it out.

Cygnus hummed and returned her attention to their project.

Evan's head was spinning by the time he left the library but his work was complete, much to his relief and immense satisfaction, and he still had two hours left before dinner and frankly, he didn't want to spend another second in there.

He decided to head back to the common room where at least one of his friends would hopefully be hanging around to dawdle the rest of his time with until supper was ready.

So distracted by his eagerness of finally being free that he didn't see the other person until he bumped right into them.

"Oh s-sorry," Evan stuttered out, staggering back a few steps.

"No problem," a female voice answered him. "I wasn't watching where I was going anyway."

Evan looked up at who he had just run into and he had to crane his neck with how tall she was but he definitely recognized her.

"You're Aran!" he blurted before he could stop himself. He instantly clamped his mouth shut with a gulp.

Aran looked surprised but she easily smoothed it over with a friendly smile. "Yeah that's me. Guess I'm famous huh?"

"Sorry. A friend told me who you were and I just…" Evan made some vague motion with his hands, his face flushing red.

Aran reached down and ruffled his hair and Evan blinked at the unexpected gesture.

"Hey, no harm done yeah?"

She paused, thumb and forefinger under her chin as she considered him.

"Say… you look a lot like Freud. Are you his brother or something?"

Evan couldn't help but heave a hopeless sigh tinged with irritation and frustration at that. This wouldn't be the first time a question like that was directed at him, usually by his seniors and he was getting tired of it because the moment they see the physically similarity he shared with the Hogwarts genius and the moment he admits his relations with his cousin, it somehow automatically made him a genius as well. The professors sometimes did the same thing too with all these expectations and he was sick of it. It was alright at first but now it was getting a bit much, like rubbing at the skin too long. He had no problems with Freud himself and he could see why he was so well-liked and respected but…

"No. I'm Evan. His cousin," Evan snapped waspishly.

Aran seemed slightly taken aback at the bite in his tone but recomposed herself quickly and Evan instantly regretted it.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound so horrible. It's not your fault I'm just tired of people thinking I'm Freud," Evan fumbled in a rush of despair.

But Aran's expression wasn't offended. In fact, she nodded sympathetically at him.

"Yeah that's understandable. I bet I'd get that way if people were always doing that to me too," Aran agreed, nodding to herself sagely.

Evan was positively washed with thankfulness and he felt an instant liking for Aran.

"Thanks."

"No problem. It's all good." Her eyes landed on his tie. "You're Gryffindor?"

"Yep."

"Are you heading back to the Gryffindor Tower?"

"I guess."

"Oh good that's perfect then! I don't mean to ask you for favors when we've just met but I was wondering if you could pass a message to Lumi for me? He should be somewhere in the Gryffindor Tower right about now and it'll be a lot faster and easier than if I went all the way up to the Owlery just for this one simple thing," Aran said, clapping her hands together.

"Lumi…?" Evan trailed off quizzically, trying to figure out if he knew anybody named Lumi.

"Oh sorry. I meant Luminous."

Evan's mouth formed an inaudible 'oh,' his eyes widening at the unexpected request.

"Oh…" Evan voiced faintly. "I uh…" He wavered, nibbling his lip. "I'm not really close to him and besides, I don't really see him that often…"

Not to mention that Luminous downright scared him if he were to be honest. He knew he felt sorry for him during the Welcoming Feast but now that he knew and heard a little more about him, Luminous's strictness was as legendary as the Headmaster's.

Aran rolled her eyes upward and sighed in disappointment but he could tell that it wasn't directed at him. It sounded a bit weary as though it was aimed at Luminous himself.

"Hey listen, it's fine. I won't force you to do it if you don't want to. Luminous gets that sort of reaction from people." Aran gave him a helpless shrug and a lopsided smile.

Evan pursed his lips in thought.

Well, Aran seemed like a nice person and she needed help and it wasn't like she was asking him to commit a crime in front of the Head Boy, just deliver a message. He could deliver it, leave, and never have to speak to Luminous ever again.

Heaving a deep breath, he dared to say, "Okay. What's the message?"

Aran beamed. "You're real brave short stuff. I know seventh years who wouldn't even look at the guy."

Evan blushed, pleased with the praise.

"So what I want you to tell him is that he should come hang out with me at least once in a while for stuff other than business or else," Aran said cheerfully.

Evan stared but quickly snapped out of it when he realized what he was doing.

Well, he guessed he should expect the Head Girl to be the only person who could get away with threatening the Head Boy like that. It sounded like they were friends even though Luka said Luminous only had Freud.

"Okay, I'll be sure to find him and tell him that," Evan affirmed although he wasn't sure how it's going to come across if he was the one to say it to Luminous.

At that, a tingle of nervousness crept up his spine but he had already promised Aran he would deliver her message and he wasn't about to go back on that.

Aran gave a thumbs-up and a big smile that showed off white teeth. "Great! I'm counting on you!" With a firm pat on the back that made Evan stumble forward slightly, she left with a wave of her hand.

Taking a deep breath and heaving it back out with a sigh, Evan continued on his way to the common room with butterflies in his stomach.

He crept into the common room cautiously as though the place was peppered with mines and cast a quick look around.

Luminous wasn't hard to spot. He was seated by the fireplace and studiously scribbling on a long piece of parchment covered with blocks of words.

As was always the case when Luminous's presence was around, people gave him a wide berth and the room was hushed, conversation reduced to library whispers.

Feeling as though he was breaching some forbidden rule, he approached him slowly.

Luminous's eyes were instantly on him and Evan froze, feeling like a rabbit before a fox.

"Are you in need of my assistance?"

His voice was brief, curt, and to-the-point and Evan felt the edges of his nerves fraying.

"I uh… I have a um… a message from… um… Aran," Evan stuttered.

Luminous gave a single sharp nod as a signal to proceed.

"S-she wanted you to know that… that… umm…"

Evan's brain drew a blank and he panicked. He couldn't remember what Aran's message was!

Taking stock of Evan's flustered disposition and perhaps taking pity on the poor first year, he gestured towards the armchair across from him with a hand indicating for him to sit.

"Please do not hesitate to a seat if it may facilitate your memory. You may stay as long as it behooves you until you remember what you must notify me of."

Evan's eyes darted back and forth towards the empty chair and Luminous, his expression as stern as always but who was nonetheless watching him patiently.

Despite this, having Luminous's sharp eyes focused on him made his legs feel a bit like jelly and he quickly took the seat before he completely collapsed and embarrassed himself.

Luminous returned to his work and Evan fidgeted in the armchair, skittish and unsettled around the Head Boy's presence.

Geez this was harder than he thought. He kind of wished he hadn't offered to help out Aran now but it was too late to go back on his word.

A few minutes passed with Evan's eyes darting from one part of the common room to the other, anywhere as long as it wasn't on Luminous. Eventually, he settled his gaze on the fire next to him, becoming entranced in its light and movements.

So enthralled in the moving flames that he didn't realize he had relaxed into the armchair and had even begun to doze until the sound of Luminous packing up his quill and parchment startled Evan out of his reverie with a jump.

Feeling the first year's eyes on him, Luminous looked up.

"Have you remembered the contents of the message you were to deliver?"

Evan opened and shut his mouth a few times, staring unattractively at his senior in front of him.

He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be remembering, ironically enough.

Receiving his answer from Evan's look, Luminous only nodded. "I see. If you recollect the pertinent information, please alert me to it as early as possible."

"You're… You're not going to… yell at me… or… something…?" Evan asked, sounding more and more uncertain before the immoveable face of the Head Boy's blankness.

Indeed, Luminous's look was inscrutable as he said, "I do not make it my custom to punish one for a commonplace condition that could afflict anyone including me."

"Oh," Evan could only think to utter, surprised.

"If you have no other need of my abilities, then I shall make my departure. Good night."

With a stiff dip of his head, Luminous got up with his belongings and swept out, leaving a thoughtful Evan to sit on the armchair beside the fire.

The next time Evan saw Luminous sat in the same armchair, he sat with him.

Luminous raised inquiring eyes at him but Evan only grinned and spread his homework out on his lap and they both worked in companionable silence.

Evan did eventually remember Aran's message, much to his triumphant pride and though Luminous's expression was as impassive and hard to read as ever, he thought he saw just a tiny hint of amusement that glimmering in his eyes and a slight upturn of his lips when he announced it with all the satisfaction of a job well done even though the message was already three weeks too late.


	6. Luka: Hogsmeade

Ah, Hogsmeade trips, always like a breath of air after the boring, mind-numbing classes and tests and homework and assignments and homework and lectures and homework and—

"AAAARGH!" Luka cried, scratching furiously at his head.

Beside him, Tin only spared his friend an amused passing glance at the random mental breakdown happening in the middle of the hall as they waited to be let out.

A snort sounded behind him. "Finally lost the last of your brains? I knew it would happen someday," a very dry, very familiar voice asked.

Luka whirled around and beamed. "Thanks Aidan! You usually say things like I don't have a brain to lose in the first place. I'm flattered."

Aidan scoffed. "Only you would be dumb enough to be flattered by insults."

"Luke, I think you gotta do something about your abusive relationship here," Tin commented, scratching behind his head vigorously. "But then again, you _are_ a total masochist. It's all good though. I'd still be your friend who'll always be around to give you a good punch in the face when you start feeling lonely."

"Thanks Tin," Luka replied, patting him on the arm. "But punch me and I'll jinx your tongue off."

Tin shuddered. Luka had a rather uncanny ability with the Dark Arts that could make even the smallest of jinxes seem like curses but few people were privy to that fact and Tin was one of those privileged few who was trusted enough with that knowledge.

"Don't even joke about that," Tin moaned.

Luka patted him on the shoulder in apology before turning to Aidan.

"So? How's the invention coming along?"

Aidan seemed to brighten slightly at the mention of his favorite hobby. "Almost done. Need a few more things but pretty much set."

"I want to see it," Luka said eagerly, shaking excitedly.

Aidan's pleased expression instantly evaporated and he scowled. "Hell no. The last time I let you near one of my projects, you practically blew it up and cost me two months' worth of work and a hundred twenty galleons _which you still owe me._"

"Aw c'mon Aidan!" Luka whined. "That was _ages _ago and I've paid you back most of it! Please Aidan? Please? Puh-leeeeeeease?"

Aidan was unimpressed by Luka's begging. "No. Either I finish it first and make it idiot-proof or you don't get to see it at all."

Luka slumped and pouted petulantly. "Stingy gramps."

Aidan shrugged unrepentantly.

"Hey let's get a move on yeah? It's not like we go to Hogsmeade every day," Tin said, shaking Luka's shoulder to get his attention.

Instantly perking up again, Luka grabbed Tin's arm and yanked him along, earning him a yelp.

"Come on, Aidan!" Luka called gleefully behind him.

Aidan rolled his eyes but nevertheless followed after.

Luka, predictably, made a beeline straight for Honeydukes the moment they had entered the village with Tin eagerly in tow and Aidan trailing behind reluctantly.

The cloying smell of sugar and chocolate immediately assaulted his nose upon entering just as the sight of hundreds of brightly colored candies filled his view.

Luka was unsurprisingly affixed near the chocolates while Tin was busy drooling over the Cauldron Cakes.

"Hey Aidan!" Luka called, bounding over to him. "Which should I get? The Chocolate Wands or the Choco-Loco?"

"Why am I even here?" Aidan asked instead, slightly moody.

"Because candy makes everyone happy! Even you, grumpy-pants," Luka answered, pulling Aidan along by the sleeve.

"I don't even like candy."

"Aw don't be like that. I know you want thiiiis," Luka sang, waving a Liquorice Wand in Aidan's face.

Aidan scowled and batted the offending confectionary away.

Luka simply grinned and grabbed a few Chocolate Wands and Liquorice Wands before going to the register to ring them both up.

Tin rejoined them soon after but he seemed excited as he explained rapidly, "Sorry guys have to bolt. Lora said she might agree to go on a date with me."

"Really? Good for you!" Luka beamed.

Tin gave a quick smile. "Thanks, Luke. I'll see you two later."

With a hasty wave, Tin hurried over to Lora waiting for him a few paces away and together they left, leaving Luka and Aidan standing outside Honeydukes.

"Welp. Guess it's just you and me now, Aidan. We'll have so much fun, right buddy?"

Aidan groaned which only caused Luka to laugh.

Reaching into the bag, Luka offered up a Liquorice Wand towards Aidan, who took it gingerly and nibbled at it while Luka chomped happily down on his chocolate.

"So, where do you want to go?" Luka asked around his mouthful of sweets.

Aidan didn't answer and they continued walking in relative silence before stopping in front of a rather worn down shop. The faded wooden sign above the door read Scraps and Traps and Luka sighed in good humor, shaking his head.

"I didn't even need to ask did I?" he asked rhetorically as Aidan pushed open the door to enter the junk shop.

Inside was a rather well-swept if not very cluttered area full of haphazard piles of random miscellaneous magical items. Dozens of cuckoo clocks all with purposes other than telling time filled the walls on the left side, a strange contraption for cracking open shells and an obnoxiously colorful vase that morphed shape every other minute balanced precariously on top of a pile next to a shelf crammed with crystal balls including one that shouted colorful insults at anyone who came too close.

As Luka gleefully bent to inspect the last item, Aidan's voice grunted from somewhere further in the shop, "Hey, make yourself useful and help me find the stuff I need."

"Yeah, yeah," Luka called, making his way over.

Aidan was crouched in front of one of the many shelves that covered the walls and from the depths of his pocket he pulled out a folded square of parchment between two fingers.

Luka snatched it, opening it and skimming the list of parts and descriptions of the things Aidan was looking for in a magical object that he would need for his invention.

"Your list is as stupidly long and demanding as usual," Luka noted absently, already picking his way through the shop and shifting the bag of candy around to better rummage through the heaps.

Only the tinkling and clashing sound of things being shifted about answered him and Luka began a search of his own.

Despite the contained explosion of random things that was more appropriate out for a scenery of the aftermath of a tornado, they came here often enough to get Aidan his parts that the shop and all its contents have now become more or less like organized chaos than anything else. The owner of the shop even gave a special discount to them.

"Aidaaaaaan," Luka whined after an hour of searching and only three of the required fifteen things found. "I don't think there's anything else here."

He heard Aidan sigh and then the sound of footsteps coming around towards him.

"Fine. Give them to me," Aidan grunted, holding out a hand.

Luka was only too happy to relinquish his spoils, eager as he was to get out of the shop already.

They walked to the front counter, the only tabletop completely free of any kind of junk. From behind the counter popped a tiny, owlish man with huge brown eyes behind a pair of thick, round glasses perched on a small beak-like nose and brown hair so frizzled it looked as though he had been struck by lightning.

"Oh, Luka and Aidan! Always good to see you," the little man squeaked.

"Hi Mr. Totts!" Luka said, waving cheerfully.

"Hello, hello!" Mr. Totts hooted and Luka was reminded of a thought he always had that Mr. Totts would've been much better off opening a shop selling owls instead. He'd fit right in with the birds. Maybe he could even communicate with them. "Always up to something aren't you?" the store owner chuckled as he rang up their purchases with their discounts.

"Not me. It's always Aidan," Luka corrected, gesturing towards his friend. "I'm just the gopher."

"Hardly," Aidan snorted as he shelled out the money to pay for the items. "You take some kind of twisted joy out of screwing up my work."

"Well this is the last time I help your ungrateful ass," Luka complained. "No appreciation for my dedication."

Aidan scowled. "Which one of us exactly does all the work again?"

Mr. Totts laughed at their squabble and Luka huffed, crossing his arms and pouting.

"You two are quite the pair aren't you?" Mr. Totts asked humorously, blinking round eyes up at them.

"Only because he's such a limpet that I couldn't get rid of him," Aidan groused, taking the bag off the countertop. "Thanks, Mr. Totts. We'll see you again soon."

"See ya, Mr. Totts!" Luka called as he hurried after Aidan.

"Take care!"

"So how much of your stuff did you find?" Luka asked once they were out of the store.

"A couple but it should be enough for now," Aidan mumbled as he looked into the bag with a look of satisfaction.

"Good, good." Luka nodded and slipped out a Chocolate Wand to munch on absently. "Want to go to the Three Broomsticks now? I want a Butterbeer."

But Aidan was already distracted by another store window.

Luka rolled his eyes lightheartedly. And he called _him _a scatterbrain.

"Luka," Aidan suddenly spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't those the Quidditch gloves you've been looking for?" he asked, poking a finger at the glass before he was nearly bowled over by Luka.

"OH MY MACKERAL LOOK AT THAT WORK OF ART!" Luka burst, squashing his hands and face against the display window with stars practically in his eyes.

Aidan grumbled at his rough treatment of being shoved aside.

"You're welcome," he grunted peevishly but his annoyance was expertly ignored as Luka oohed and aahed over the gloves.

"So close yet so far," Luka sighed wistfully as his eyes traced meticulously, mournfully over every single stitch, crease, and bump of the prize sitting just beyond the glass including the stupidly expensive price tag attached to them. "That probably costs my whole life savings," he wailed.

"If you're done crying over something that's way over your head that you don't actually really _need_," Aidan snipped impatiently from the side, having folded his arms over his chest.

Luka heaved a huge breath as though Aidan was the one keeping him waiting before finally peeling himself away from the window and getting up.

"Fine, fine. Let's go."

"Finally," Aidan grumbled and without further preamble, he turned and started walking away with Luka trailing behind staring at his back curiously at his abrupt manner.

He watched as Aidan fiddled with his scarf and shifted his cloak to pull it subtly tighter around himself before a metaphorical light bulb lit in his head even as he bounded over towards his friend.

"Aidan! Aidan. Aidan, Aidan, Ai—"

"What?" Aidan snapped, finally looking irately over at an undaunted smiling Luka.

"I'm cold," he said simply, holding out his hand expectantly.

Aidan merely stared owlishly at the extended appendage and Luka let out a self-suffering sigh.

Before Aidan could bite out something along the lines of Luka's stupidity, he grabbed Aidan's cold hand and shoved both of their hands into his pocket.

"What—"

"Cold," Luka repeated firmly, pointedly squeezing his fingers.

Aidan complained a bit more but fell silent in the end and Luka's mouth curled into a smaller smile, unknown and unseen by the Ravenclaw walking next to him.

Their arms bumped as they walked through the village in silence.

"This is stupid," Aidan mumbled.

"No. I am, remember?" Luka chuckled.

"Yeah. You are."

Luka's smile slit into a more mischievous grin and he released Luka's hand. The Ravenclaw had only enough time to make a single confused noise before, in one swift move, the quick redhead had spun in front of him, pressing his back to his chest, grabbed both his hands, crisscrossing his arms across Luka's chest, and shoved them in his pockets. His hands entwined themselves firmly around Aidan's own, effectively trapping himself against Aidan.

"T-the hell?" Aidan spluttered, trying to unsuccessfully remove his hands from Luka's grip.

"Yay!" Luka cheered, laughing noisily.

"Luka, let the hell go," Aidan hissed.

"Mm no."

"Luka!"

"You're warmer this way right?"

"That's not the point!"

"Then what's the point?"

"It's hard as hell walking like this!"

"No it's not. It's real easy see? Just follow my footsteps."

"You walk too damn fast."

"You just walk too slow."

"I don't want to have to keep pace with you."

"Too bad."

"Merlin you're annoying."

Luka beamed even though Aidan couldn't see him. Nonetheless, the Ravenclaw behind him scowled as though he could feel it.

"Stop smiling."

"Whaaaa?" He pouted.

Aidan smirked. "Better. Let's get Butterbeer to warm myself up so you'll stop clinging to me."

"But if I'm not mistaken, _you're_ the one with your arms around _me,_" Luka said teasingly as he turned to lead them in the direction of the Three Broomsticks, utterly unabashed by and unmindful of the stares they received as they walked through the streets.

Aidan turned a faint shade of red. "Not because I wanted to."

"Right, right," Luka said in a clearly unconvinced tone as he nodded his head in a placating manner. It kind of ticked Aidan off (Luka had some kind of unnatural gift for getting a rise out of him) but decided to let it slide. Answering that would just make him come off as defensive.

He simply allowed Luka to lead them both to the pub but doesn't complain about their position again.


	7. Ghost

Hogwarts was plain unsettling and _creepy _at night.

In the day, the castle bustled with activity. Even as sprawling as it was, there was always at least _some_ signs of life even during class time when the halls would normally be mostly empty; the chatter of the portraits, the wandering students, passing teachers, and drifting ghosts. Sunlight brightened and highlighted the majesty of the castle's intricate architecture in the mornings and afternoons while candlelight warmed the stone walls with their fire's glow in the evenings.

But at night when every good student would be ensconced snugly in their dorms upon the creeping of curfew, the castle was as hollow and sinister as it was shadowy and mysterious.

If he had a choice, Evan would never have wandered out at this time for anything. In the first place, he had always been nervous about breaking even the slightest rules which made him a goody two shoes to everyone back home but in this case, he thought he had a very valid reason to fear venturing into the castle at night.

Hogwarts wasn't just any abandoned old house or a part of the forest that his folks had warned him against going into. It was a _magical _castle which follows that a number of things could happen to him, the least of which was getting caught wandering out after curfew.

But here Evan was, hunching into himself as nervous and jittery as Utah after a coffee binge. For what? A stupid bet that Kyle had pushed him into.

Evan let out a soft growl at the reminder, arms tightening around himself as he wandered the next corner, making sure to stick as close as possible to the Fat Lady's portrait beyond which was the common room in which Kyle and Velderoth were probably idly waiting to make sure he didn't just loll around until the ten minutes were up.

Evan had thought about simply staying in front of the portrait at first but then he began to feel a bit stupid just standing there outside his own dorm as though he had forgotten the password. And then he thought he heard footsteps headed towards him at which he panicked and ran off.

He didn't go far, mind, just far enough away so that the patrolling prefect or the caretaker, Mr. Brighton, didn't find him.

So here he was wandering around to make it a little harder for him to be caught, waiting impatiently for his ten minutes to be up. Who knew ten minutes could take forever?

When he was about sure that he had three minutes left on the clock, Evan started back towards the dorm when a voice suddenly spoke from his left, causing Evan to start badly and let out a loud gasp.

"Freud?"

The inquiry was spoken with so much hope and joy that for a split second, Evan almost wished he _was_ Freud.

But the moment was gone as swiftly as it had come and he stared.

It was one of the Hogwarts ghosts, his silvery translucency glowing faintly in the hushed darkness of the hall. He had a long head of hair that reached past his waist and a mature face out of which a pair of gentle, friendly eyes peered out with a smile that wavered and then faded the longer they stared at each other.

But what really caught Evan's attention was the fact that he was wearing the Hogwarts uniform and from looks alone, he might've been in sixth or seventh year before he...

Evan shook himself from that thought.

His pounding heart had calmed somewhat now that he was sure that it wasn't a prefect or Mr. Brighton but it still thrummed nervously, wondering if the ghost would tell on him. But more importantly, this ghost… he was only a student when he died and he felt suddenly sad.

"Ah… You're not Freud… I apologize… I've mistaken you for someone else," the ghost murmured and though he tried to hide it, it was clear that he was disappointed.

"It's okay. I get that a lot," Evan said in turn.

The ghost nodded and turned to drift away but Evan stopped him. He remembered the sight of Luminous during his first time in Hogwarts, during the Welcoming Feast, the lonely picture he had made even surrounded by a crowd of students and he was reminded of that again here with this ghost.

Maybe it was the environment, the echoey, cavernousness of the surrounding shadows or maybe Evan was getting way ahead of himself again but…

"Ah! W-wait. Do you know Freud? He's a distant cousin of mine…"

The ghost stopped and turned around again, looking surprised but replied nonetheless, "Yes, I know him. We… play chess sometimes when he isn't too busy… A cousin… I never knew he had one who had magic."

"Ah well… That's because I'm Muggle-born and this is my first year here so even I didn't know until I got that letter," Evan said, smiling. "Oh! I'm Evan by the way. It's nice to meet you."

The ghost smiled back, faint and not nearly as radiant as when he had mistook Evan as Freud but it still held a sort of contained gladness in it nonetheless.

"You can call me Shade."

Evan blinked at the strange wording but decided not to ask about it.

"Okay then. So Shade, have you known Freud long?"

Shade's face was neutral as he nodded. "Yes. We were friends for a long time. He was my first one in fact."

"O-oh, uh…" Evan stumbled over himself, inwardly wincing and smacking himself. That was such a dumb thing to ask. Of course Shade wouldn't want to be reminded of the past when he was still alive!

Noticing his distress, Shade smiled and smoothly changed the subject. "And what of you, Evan? Are you enjoying Hogwarts?"

Feeling relieved, Evan gratefully answered with an enthusiastic, "Yeah! Learning magic is fun! But the homework and essays the professors give us less so…"

Shade nodded in sympathy. "It can be hard at first but after a while, I found myself growing accustomed to it eventually."

"I don't think I can ever grow used to homework," Evan lamented. "One of my friends, Kyle, _never _grew used to doing homework. He always copies off of me at the last minute or begs off Velderoth or Alpha and Beta or bothers Xenon if none of us would give it but he could still do every single spell perfectly after practicing for a few days!"

"He must be quite talented," Shade commented.

"Yeah, I guess he is," Evan agreed, sinking downward to sit on the ground thoughtfully and likewise, Shade floated a little closer. "I mean, I don't think I know enough about the Wizarding World to say for sure but Velderoth's smarter than all of us and Kyle could still do better than him."

"Intellect and performance doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand," Shade nodded.

"I guess that's true," Evan hummed. "I'm pretty slow to learn spells but Velderoth keeps telling me I'm pretty smart too. It's a bit frustrating, 'specially if everyone gets it before you do but it's still so much fun you know? Until three months ago, magic was something I could only find in books but here I am _learning magic! _So I'm happy I'm even here in the first place."

Shade's smile softened into something a little fonder and a little warmer, eyes dipping down slightly somehow looking far away yet grounded at the same time and Evan wondered what he could be thinking of. "Yes. Yes, it's amazing, isn't it?"

Evan beamed and continued to enthusiastically tell him about his experiences, his classes, and his friends.

He hadn't realized that he had been sitting in that cold stone hallway for around two hours simply talking before Shade caught the faint sound of footsteps pacing towards them and ushered him back to his dorm while he distracted whoever it was.

Back at the dorm, Kyle and Velderoth were no longer in the common room, which was unsurprising.

Evan frowned in worry, hoping that they hadn't gone out to look for him. It _had _been two hours, after all. Well beyond the ten minute deadline.

He crept upstairs and just as he suspected, they weren't in their beds.

When he went back downstairs, he wavered between looking for them and staying to wait for them to come back but the dilemma was answered for him when the portrait opened and Velderoth and Kyle climbed through to meet him.

"Evan! There you are!" Kyle exclaimed in a whisper. "We were getting worried! This ghost told us that you spent the whole two hours just talking to him? How'd that happen?"

Evan laughed sheepishly and shrugged helplessly. "It sort of just did?"

"C'mon, we can talk tomorrow. It's late," Velderoth interrupted, making his way towards the stairs and stopping at its base to look back at them. "Let's go to sleep."

The other two nodded in agreement and the three silently crept up the stairs and back into their warm beds.


	8. Shade: Chess

"Shade? Is there something the matter?"

I startle from my reverie and blink at you, sitting across from me on one of the windowsills of the castle with a chessboard between us. The hallway is silent so far away from the main hub of Hogwarts at night.

The yellowish-orange light casts its glow on your face and flick shadows across your frowning lips as your ocean eyes, flecked with glitters of marigold, regard me carefully in concern.

I shake my head, smiling wryly.

"Nothing to be worried about. I was simply thinking of your cousin."

Recognition and warmth dawn in your eyes and you smile. It never fails to arrest that vital pulse deep within my very soul just like the heart I no longer have that makes me feel alive even when I'm dead.

"You've met Evan?" you ask, surprised.

I nod.

"He's a very bright child, isn't he?" you say with a fondness in your voice.

"Yes," I reply, remembering that night, the way he seemed glow in his excitement as he talked about his life at Hogwarts. "He reminds me of you."

"Oh is that so," you say, leaning back, interested

I nod. He reminds me strongly of you in our younger years when we were only first years who have just met. I was a lonely boy who hadn't known much of love and you were the brilliant boy who knew many things but friendship. You were willing to explore, however, and you reached out your hand.

You never judge and your desire to understand is real. It's what makes people so at ease around you but for me, it was what makes me want to take your hand and go the extra length just so that I may rise up to the expectations that shine in your eyes every time you see me. Every time. It was something that I've always loved about you.

"He's curious. He wants to explore every nook and cranny this world has to offer," I say as I move my bishop a few squares.

"Yes and he will eventually become someone great."

You are happy as you move your rook forward. Evan is someone you cherish and I can see why. He is bright in the sense of his spirit and his mind, like a shiny white star in the black sky.

We don't speak afterwards, lapsing into comfortable silence as we proceed with our game. It is familiar and it brings as much warmth as pain to think this will be the final year I will ever play you again.

You win, as you always do, and you smile and tell me, "A good game, as always," and mean it.

I smile back. "Thank you."

We sit there for a few moments longer, reveling in each other's presence. You draw comfort in mine while I draw silent strength from yours. It is what keeps my determination alive.

You sigh. It is a relaxed breath and without looking, I know you have closed your eyes. You chuckle.

"You are very comfortable to be around, Shade," you finally say. "I can't explain it but whenever I am around you, I cannot help but relax."

My smile turns wan as I stare into the darkness beyond the window. "I am glad."

Because it is one of the only things left I could do for you.

"I wonder why… It is as if you know me almost better than myself. Have we met before perhaps?"

I turn to you then. "No, we haven't."

You aren't convinced, lips pressed together and your head lowers in a slightly reproachful way but I shake my head and look away. "It's something better left unquestioned."

I know you want to know, crave it even, but your implicit trust which even now... still remain intact though your memories of me are gone, allow you to nod slowly.

"I don't like seeing you so sorrowful, Shade," you tell me softly.

And I know.

"I have long accepted my fate."

And I beg that you would accept it too otherwise, I wouldn't be able to bear this existence any longer.

For I now exist solely so that I may watch for the Black Mage should he ever arise again.

He may have casted a spell in an attempt to erase his existence from the whole world so that he could start anew but I could have never allowed such a thing. Not if it meant for you and our friends to live in a potential world of misery.

The price I had to pay so that even a few may remember him is great but if it's for you and the rest of our friends… I would do anything.

I will watch over you, Freud, and everyone else and protect them to the best of my capabilities but when the day comes when you are beyond my sights and I cannot be by your side any longer… I can only pray that the others will watch over you well in my stead.


End file.
